For me, a weekend breakfast sandwich is as sacred of a ritual as marriage. I typically spend my Saturday mornings after a long and arduous work week crafting some iteration of the classic dish using its core tenets: bacon, fried egg, American cheese and some form of bread.
As gratifying as this tradition is, I consider myself a novice when it comes to anything involved with cooking.
Nailing down the basics of a breakfast sandwich are never usually the problem for me but finding that one spice or seasoning to elevate it to the next level is always a challenge due to my lack of expertise and adroitness.
I’ll often spend some weekends furiously scrolling through Google looking for a distinct recipe that will help place my sandwich above the rest, only to come up frustratingly short.
When that happens, it usually means it is time for me to leave it up to the professional chefs at a local diner/restaurant.
I am glad I did just that one Sunday afternoon in downtown Springfield, where I stumbled upon a breakfast sandwich worth fighting for.
All-American Sports Bar
Truth be told, I did not think the perfect breakfast sandwich existed until a chance encounter with the brunch menu at All-American Sports Bar on 459 Dwight St.
The upscale sports bar has wowed me in the past with creative takes on classic bar food items like buffalo wings, Cajun fries and the bacon cheeseburger, but their breakfast sandwich sliders might be their most brilliant concoction yet.
Oftentimes, a truly great breakfast sandwich can be difficult to master because one ingredient can throw the entire handheld off. An egg may be dehydrated or the bagel that bookends a sandwich might be slightly under-toasted, thus leaving a chewy cadence in its wake and a fear that I may tear out my front tooth’s crown in the process of consuming it.
None of these problems persist in All-American’s sliders. Instead, the kitchen nails the core ingredients using a seamlessly melded blend of smoky bacon, melted American cheese and a well-seasoned fried egg.
But what sets this sandwich apart from its contemporaries is the restaurant’s delightful use of the Belgian waffle as the component that binds the sandwich together. In doing this, All-American has achieved the daunting balancing act of “sweet and savory,” which makes me feel like Remy in that one scene of “Ratatouille” where he closes his eyes to savor every contrasting flavor he consumes.
To top it all off, the mouth-watering sandwich comes with a hefty plate of sweet potato home fries garnished with peppers to accentuate the flavor.
Simply put, this one is a meal for the ages, and I highly recommend anyone who loves breakfast sandwiches to try this one out when All-American serves brunch, which is between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the weekend.
